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by Kelly Light
I don’t want to talk about feelings. I don’t want to pamper you. I’m not gonna nurture your spirit. I’m not gonna help you find your happy place where ideas grow like flowers.
I want to make you work.
I want to talk about just how hard you are going to have to work if you really want to create children’s books.
I’m gonna get real here, folks. I could try to inspire you with lots of spiritual mumbo jumbo, but I’d rather kick you in the tuchus.
‘Cause that is what you need. I’m gonna be tough. I am gonna go all medieval on that butt.
I wish I could get Samuel L. Jackson to read this post to you…but this is just me, the voice of experience..sending you some tough love today.
You now have one week left of PiBoIdMo. You’ve taken on the challenge. When the month is over – don’t put down the pencil.
Never put down the pencil.
I am talking commitment on a new level.
Ten minutes a day is not going to lead to getting a book written or drawn or dummied or submitted. If that’s what you have managed to do everyday for three weeks, making children’s books may not be the job for you.
I know, I know….you’re calling me some choice words right about now. Hear me out.
This month is about coming up with ideas. Which is an important first step. What are you going to do with those ideas?
An idea is just a spark. You have to cut down the trees and chop them into logs until your blistered and bleeding and collect kindling and learned how to build the right wood pile tee-pee…to make a fire…to make that spark ignite into a blaze.
You aren’t gonna get warm with just a spark.
You are gonna freeze like a motha #$%&#%.
Don’t stop after ten minutes. Don’t stop after a month.
This is hard work. This is hours and hours of work.
If you want to get published, want it more than anything or want it more than everyone else, than this is the job for you.
Job. Not dream. Not hobby.
If you are in this for the long haul, start your haul now. You want a career in this? Act like you already have one.
Fasten your seat belts while you have your “Butt in Chair,” folks, and only get out of it to go to the john!
If you really want this, keep reading. If you think you may get to that book dummy you have had on your desk for the last two years or you might write down that idea you had four years ago that you know is genius and a best seller and the next Fancy Nancy or Diary of a Wimpy Kid and you’ll get around to it after you’ve decided “you’re ready” and you’ve taken 24 more writing workshops….you may want to stop reading now.
I’m about to get meaner.
I said you need to want this more than everyone else.
I wanted this more than you.
Harsh, right?
But true.
I wanted this so badly I was like a pitt bull. Jaws of steal clamped down on this career.
Who do you think of as the people successful in publishing?
Those people wanted to be in it more than everybody else.
They had the drive. The determination.
They were like dogs on a bone.
They write to write and draw to draw, day after day, after day.
They don’t just consider it a hard job that they love….but also consider it oxygen.
You can’t exist without oxygen. You can’t only breathe for ten minutes a day.
You are dedicating the month of November to generate picture book ideas. Dedicate the next 12 months to turning your ideas into manuscripts and book dummies.
Ideas are not delivered under your pillow by the Idea Fairy. Ideas are generated, manufactured by work. You need to be an idea factory. A word factory. An image factory.
You have to grind these ideas into something. You have to pound them into shape. You have to process them into something useful, intelligent, imaginative and appealing.
You have to billow steam and pollute your life to make something that matters.
The biggest pieces of the 1000 piece puzzle to publication are hard work, passion, believing in yourself, perseverance, persistence, patience and opportunity.
Talent—or a better word, SKILL—is the last and smallest piece of the puzzle. When all other pieces have been put in place…you need the the skills developed and ready for when opportunity knocks. Or YOU kick down the #@$@%*$ door.
You had better have the goods and be ready to work. You can only be ready if you are ALWAYS creating new work.
Always.
That’s in like, everyday.
I now work 7 days a week. 10 hours a day.
I worked hard to get here but I had no idea how much harder I would work once I got books.
So work that tuchus off this week. Don’t half-ass it.
What you have come up with this month will not be brilliant. But what you think has potential should not sit on your desk until the next PiboIdMo.
Finish it. Really, finish it. Finish one. The next one will be easier. And the next. Just finish.
Polish it. It’s no good until you rework it, over and over……..
Send it off. To a crit group. To an agent. To a editor. If you don’t submit, nothing will ever happen. Nothing. Ever. Nada. Zip. Ze-ro.
Believe in it and yourself. You are as much a work in progress as your work. Own your work where it is right now. Make no excuses for it or where you are in your development at this very moment.
The Beatles could never have made “Hey Jude” without first making “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”.
Take your work in hand and hand – it – over – to be looked at by many people who know more than you.
Move on. NEXT! Next challenge, next idea, next month, next story, next project… you are factory now, remember? DO NOT PRESS THAT BIG RED STOP BUTTON. DO NOT SHUT DOWN THE LINE.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Think of me. By next PiboIdmo, I will have met 4 book deadlines working 10 hours a day, seven days a week.
I wanted it more than you. Now YOU go—beat ME at wanting it.
My inspirational foot is kicking your backside. Go to work.
Don’t make me come over there.
No Samuel L. Jacksons were harmed in the making of this post.
Kelly Light has a lot of books to work on. She is illustrator of “The Quirks” series from Bloomsbury. “Elvis and the Underdogs” from Balzer and Bray, her picture book “Louise Loves Art” is out next Fall 2014 from Balzer and Bray with more Louise books to follow,
“just Add Glitter” comes out 2016 from Beach Lane Books and the hits just keep on coming…
Check out Kelly’s work at KellyLight.com.
All opinions expressed above were solely Kelly’s and not the opinions of PiBoIdMo or it’s affiliates.
Kelly is giving away signed copies of “The Quirks” and “Elvis and The Underdogs”.
Two winners will be randomly selected at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for this prize if:
- You have registered for PiBoIdMo.
- You have commented ONCE ONLY on today’s post.
- You have completed the PiBoIdMo challenge. (You will have to sign the PiBoIdMo Pledge at the end of the event.)
Good luck, everyone!
by Bitsy Kemper
Ah, the life of an author. Writing, creating…it evokes images of stretched legs and hammocks by the sea.
Yeah, right. Sometimes I’d rather clean the toilet. Let’s face it. No matter how much we love what we do, and no matter how easily words may flow, there are days when it’s still work. To be a good writer, nay, a great writer, we are faced with days and days of less fun and more work. But hey, it’s still fun. And usually better than grabbing a scrub brush.
With an easily-distracted brain (IS THAT CHOCOLATE?), my biggest challenge is focus. When faced with a deadline or obstacle, my mind tends to freak out. It wanders about like a baby that’s just learned to crawl. (“Oh, I need to see that up close. Oh wait, there’s something shiny, was that always there? Can I eat it?”) Sometimes it sprints like an escaped prisoner and doesn’t come back for days.
When I *have*to focus, I usually can’t.
I figured I could better harness that energy by creating a blog. After all, writing is writing, right? In July I created a WordPress account and literally went live within five minutes. Then I spent 105 minutes picking out a font. Background color? Agonizing. Theme? Changed it four times. I could easily spend five hours a day refining and fine tuning to get it just right. And not one minute would be spent writing. That recently-sprung prisoner called distraction would be laughing all the way to the bank.
Creating or maintaining a blog isn’t the same thing as writing one. But you can’t do one without the other, not if you want to do it well. All the time I spent obsessing over managing formatting ate away at the time I could have spent writing it. Or better yet, working on a manuscript. There’s only so much time in a day, and we need to spend it wisely. (Oh, crap, did I just turn into my grandfather?)
Some of you are very good at writing a pithy post, hitting enter, and going back to your regularly-scheduled program. You impress me. But my brain won’t let me off that easy. “Was there an extra space after the fifth sentence? Would this look better in blue? Maybe I could take a few pictures to post along with it…hang on, I’ll grab my camera…” Next thing you know I’m knee deep in gifs and jpegs and have completely forgotten the purpose was to write.
Here’s the deal: WordPress ISN’T WHAT I DO. It’s not what defines me. Sorry, blog, I mean I like you and all, but you are not what I wake up in the morning eager to work on. You are not what I think about all day and can’t wait to work on again once the kids are asleep. You are not what kept me from falling asleep last night because of all those great story ideas resulting from an otherwise painful trip to the mall. Yes, I will tend to you, dear blog, but not at the expense of my other writing progress. I can’t hand you the steering wheel.
I set the blog up only to walk away because it aggressively detracted me from my one true love: working on my manuscripts. (To think they just waited patiently for my return! They are so good to me.) My blog is imperfect and I hate that. But sometimes “good enough” has to be, well, good enough.
Bottom line: if there is only enough time in the day to get one thing right, it’s gonna be my manuscript, not my blog. I won’t be a better writer if I use the blog as a distraction away from my “real” writing, the way I use my writing to distract me from cleaning the bathroom (honestly, you’d think it’d be spotless by now).
Maybe you can replace the word “blog” with “Facebook” or “crying baby” or something else from your own life; we all have that one big distracter that keeps us from staying on track. The trick is to fight the temptation, tame the beast, focus focus focus.
Make time for yourself, no one is going to give it to you.
Now I’m off to finish those revisions my editor needs next Thursday. Sorry, bathroom and blog, you’re gonna have to wait.
Bitsy Kemper is author of six educational picture books and one nonfiction YA that’s due 2014. Interestingly, her passion is humorous middle grade and creative, fictional picture books, but real life (or is it her blog?) has a way of interfering with finding their perfect publisher…
Busy with three kids (four if you count her husband), Bitsy has stayed focused long enough to present at writer conferences and schools from NY to CA. She’s enjoyed using her corporate background to create custom business plans for fellow writers who would rather clean toilets than market themselves. Follow her at @BitsyKemper or BitsyKemper.com.
Now stop reading and get back to writing!
by Steve Barr
I can’t really begin to pinpoint where my inspiration comes from. When people ask where I get my ideas, I don’t tend to have an answer ready. Ideas just seem to leap into my head out of nowhere. My best guess is that there’s some faulty wiring in my brain. That’s most likely due to the regular “thumpings” my older brother gave me on a daily basis as we were growing up. Perhaps he knocked a few screws loose.
I can get inspired by all sorts of things. Some of my best ideas pop into my mind when I’m driving down the highway with no music on, just daydreaming. Or when I’m laying in bed drifting off to sleep. If I had music blaring inside the truck, the lyrics would be too distracting and I’d just end up singing along with them. At home, when I’m locked away in my studio, I do listen to music. But it’s usually jazz, classical or new age. Anything that doesn’t have words blasting into my mind. I want all of the words that are rushing through my head to be my own.
I OBSERVE. By that, I mean I tend to truly look at everything around me. If I’ve hiked miles away from civilization and I’m sitting on a mountaintop watching a hawk fly above me, I’m usually thinking “Oh….THAT’S how their wings are shaped when they’re drifting!” and I incorporate that into my work later. You may sometimes see me sitting in a mall somewhere, and it will appear that I’m gawking at people passing by. Sometimes I stare. But what’s actually going through my mind is “So, that’s how the wrinkles on a coat look when someone bends their arm” or “What a crazy hat! I need to remember that and draw it later.”
I also LISTEN. When other people are talking, I really want to hear what they have to say. Their problems, their frustrations and the things that make them laugh. Because, after all, any of those conversations can be the foundation of an idea for a book or a cartoon. Inspiration is all around us, and we just need to learn how to harness it in our own way.
For instance, a friend was recently telling me that he was concerned that his wife was thinking of getting rid of him. On my ride home, the idea for a cartoon about that popped into my head and I drew it the next day.
Yet another acquaintance was complaining about having trouble getting to sleep. As I was approaching my cabin later that night, a raccoon darted across my path. Those two subjects merged in my mind, and another cartoon was born.
The process of creating books and cartoon ideas are very similar. It’s just that cartoons are compressed into images and thoughts that can be expressed quickly, while books use pictures and words to give a longer, more complete story.
But, like everyone else involved in creative endeavors, there are those days where I’m stopped dead in my tracks by a severe case of “writer’s block”. What do I do then? Well, sometimes I give myself a break, walk away from my work and let my batteries recharge. But if I’m faced with a tight deadline, whether it’s self-imposed or from contractual obligations, I do have a backup plan. I use a technique taught to me by another successful cartoonist when I was young. I take a sheet of notebook paper and divide it into columns. The columns are labelled “Main Character”, “Setting”, and “Supporting Characters”. I fill the columns with all sorts of possibilities, then either close my eyes and randomly circle sections from each column or I simply pick combinations that I think might work. This creates unique combinations I may not have thought about otherwise, and can help trigger new ideas and possibilities.
Cartoonists, like authors, are doing the same thing as a movie director. They created a cast, give them their lines and put them in the right surroundings.
Here’s an example of the chart:
Once one of the combinations begins to trigger ideas, I roll with it….trying to think of what the characters might be saying to each other or how they would be interacting. This method would probably work just as nicely for inspiring writers as it for helping cartoonists. I ask myself what the characters would have in common, or what issues they might be struggling with. And here are the results of combining a dog, a restaurant and a woman on a date:
So, my creative process is very similar to approaching a railroad crossing. Stop. Look. And listen!
Sometimes it results in wonderful inspiration. And other times it results in a train wreck. If the latter happens, I just dust myself off, tuck that idea away for a different time and start on another.
As the late great cartoonist Gil Foxx once wrote in a book he signed to me, “Persist. Over…..and over….and over…and over.” Just keep chugging away, and eventually you are bound to end up on the right track.
Another great source of inspiration can be your editor. (Or an agent, if you have one.) Something I think that many writers and artists tend to forget is that your editor is your best friend. They’re your teammate. You both have the same goal. You are both trying to develop the best product possible. I know quite a few people who like to argue with their editors when they’re given input, because they feel a bit insulted that someone is trying to change part of their creation.
I’ve never looked at it that way. I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with some of the finest editors in the field, and I would always listen to their suggestions because I knew they had my best interests at heart.
Do you know that Maurice Sendak had originally intended to call Where the Wild Things Are something totally different? Yup. He was going to title it Land of the Wild Horses. But when he started working on the illustrations, he realized that he wasn’t very good at drawing horses. It was his editor’s suggestion to change it to “WIld Things”, inspired by a Yiddish expression that referred to boisterous children.
Can you imagine the world of children’s literature without Where the Wild Things Are in it? I can’t. And it may never have happened if he hadn’t been willing to collaborate closely with his editor.
Christina Richards, my editor at IMPACT Books, edited my books perfectly and seamlessly. By the time I received the galley proofs for Draw Crazy Creatures, I could not tell which words were mine and which ones were hers. She had removed unnecessary and redundant text during the editing process, and had made minor changes to some of my sentences that had a major impact on them. A major impact that made them better. She made the book flow smoothly.
So I’d highly recommend that folks in the creative end of this business open themselves up to constructive criticism, helpful suggestions and any input from the editorial staff they are working with. These people are in the positions they are in because they know what they are doing. They are the inspiration behind the scenes, and when they’re done helping you, they will have played a huge role in making you and your work shine.
Steve Barr is the author and illustrator of Draw Crazy Creatures and Draw Awesome Animals from IMPACT books. He’s also written and illustrated a series of 11 books in the 1-2-3 Draw line from Peel Productions.
Steve’s cartoons have appeared in a variety of newspapers and magazines, including “The Complete Idiot’s Guides” and the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series. He’s also done a lot of art for a wide variety of educational products and publications. You can take a peek at some of his work on his website SteveBarrCartoons.com.
Steve is giving away two signed copies of Draw Crazy Creatures!
Two winners will be randomly selected at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for this prize if:
- You have registered for PiBoIdMo.
- You have commented ONCE ONLY on today’s post.
- You have completed the PiBoIdMo challenge. (You will have to sign the PiBoIdMo Pledge at the end of the event.)
Good luck, everyone!
by Pat Miller
For me, ideas rarely spring to life like Athena leaping from Zeus’s forehead. When I intentionally push my imagination up against the wall, patting it down for inspiration, I get nowhere but frustrated. But I have discovered five ways to slip into the back door of The House of Inspiration.
1. Piggyback
I was delivering the annual library orientation to my primary classes. That involved repeating the same lesson 23 times. “I wish there was a book we could share that detailed the procedures in a fun way,” I thought.
Weeks later, we were acting out the choruses of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt when it struck me. I could write an orientation book called We’re Going on a Book Hunt! The structure of the classic rhyme was a ready framework for my own bouncy tale about a class of bears who learn to use the library, complete with original choruses.
You aren’t likely to think of ideas no one has ever considered before. But you can tweak the tried-and-true to make them your own. Library shelves are home to a plethora of piggy-backed productions—Little Red Cowboy Hat and The Wolf Who Cried Boy are two more.
2. Get Emotional
My two-year-old granddaughter wanted to help make a shopping list. As I said peanut butter, eggs, bread, she made a squiggle for each. When I added tiger toes, monkey milk, and boo-boo fruit, she calmly added each to the list. Her bit-lip intensity and self-confidence charmed me. That emotional *ping* signaled to me that this incident was worth writing down.
Negative emotions *ping* as well. Recently, we received a fancy invitation to the anniversary party of a couple I didn’t know. But my husband said he was a great guy, new to their golf group. So we went. We gave them a gift, signed their bridal book, and shared a lovely dinner with a table of strangers. When we finally asked someone to point out the special couple, we realized that neither of us knew them! How did we get invited?! As we slipped out undetected, I was confused and embarrassed. *Ping!* I converted this emotional incident into a nugget for PiBoIdMo.
Build a stockpile of emotional *pings* in your notebook. Cull them from real life and from your memories. An emotional connection helps kids identify with your character. But it can be difficult to generate while pressured by a blinking cursor. Stored episodes of affection, anger, admiration, embarrassment, etc. can be the yeasty starter for developing similar emotions in your work.
3. Mother of Invention
One January, my first grade teachers asked if there was a book about making New Year’s resolutions. I searched area libraries and publisher catalogs without success. Then it dawned on me that I could write that book. Two years later, I was able to supply them with Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution in which a rookie squirrel learns about making resolutions from her friends.
Necessity is the mother of books about gluten allergies, bullies, gay parents, and overseas adoptions. Be alert when you hear (or think) “I wish there was a book about…” When I told my grown daughter I was working on this post, she said, “I wish there was a book about an Advent calendar that came to life.” I may never write it, but I added her wish to my notebook. My husband still wishes I would write a book about famous brothers. It’s in there.
On the last page of every issue of The SCBWI Bulletin, Libby Nelson compiles a librarian wish list of fiction and nonfiction topics. One of those needs could become the mother of your next brilliant inspiration.
4. Carry a Net
One year I was coaxing my kindergarteners to guess what special day was coming up. They made random incorrect guesses, so I gave them a clue.
“It’s the day when an animal pops out of its hole to look for its shadow.”
Blank looks. These were Texas five year-olds. There are no wild groundhogs in the entire state. Then an earnest little boy waved his hand, blurting, “I know this one!”
“Great! What animal pops out of his hole next week?” I asked.
“The armadillo!” he proudly announced.
Not quite. I went on to explain about Groundhog Day, but as soon as the class left the library, I scurried into my office to record the exchange. Three years later, that conversation inspired my first children’s book, Substitute Groundhog.
My new smart phone takes dictation, but I find small tablets to be more versatile. (It’s creepily obvious if you dictate into your phone while eavesdropping.) I have little tablets in my purse, my gym bag, my car, and my kitchen. I even have a waterproof one in the shower—my best place for getting ideas. Tablets help me capture inspirations before they fly away.
5. Plant Bulbs
I read a great gardening tip about using golf tees to mark where you plant bulbs so you don’t accidentally plant over them. Bulbs look like rocks. You plant them. Water them. Then wait. And wait. Eventually you forget about them (hence the golf tees), and go about your life. One day–surprise! Leaf tips, followed in quick order by stems, buds and gorgeous flowers.
We were touring the Boston harbor when our guide waved his arm vaguely to the north and said, “Over there is the grave of the guy who invented the doughnut hole.” I jotted that fact in my little purse notebook. Later, I transferred it to my Idea Notebook where it sat for two years until I took it to the Highlights Nonfiction Workshop. There I began my research. Six months later, I wrote the manuscript as my first for Julie Hedlund’s 12×12. Her February agent requested to represent it. In July, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt acquired The Hole Story of the Doughnut.
How easily I could have let the tour guide’s remark fly away on the wind off the harbor. A quick jot in my notebook, and it was safely planted. You never know which homely idea will germinate when least expected, nurtured by future life experiences or eyes that see it in a different light later.
Reinvent the books or songs that you love. Record emotional situations and capitalize on needs around you. Keep your mental nets ready. Stash your tablets. And faithfully plant your ideas. Then you’ll gain ready admission into The Big House.
Pat was a school librarian for 22 years—the perfect job for a children’s writer. Her Substitute Groundhog received 33 rejections before the euphoric phone call from Albert Whitman. It went on to become a Junior Library Guild Book, a Scholastic Book Club selection with CD, an e-book hybrid from Weigl, and translated into French for Canadian Groundhog Day. Besides her books for children, Pat has written 20 for school librarians and is Contributing Editor for LibrarySparks magazine. Pat loves doing school visits as an author and storyteller. Visit her at PatMillerBooks.com and check out her blog at PatMillerBooks.com/blog. Comment there on her latest post to win another chance for a critique.
Pat is generously giving away two prizes!
The first—pick one of her three children’s book—with audio CD. If you win, it will be personalized to your favorite reader.
The second is a picture book critique.
Two winners will be randomly selected at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for this prize if:
- You have registered for PiBoIdMo.
- You have commented ONCE ONLY on today’s post.
- You have completed the PiBoIdMo challenge. (You will have to sign the PiBoIdMo Pledge at the end of the event.)
Good luck, everyone!
I call the agents who participate in PiBoIdMo “agent prizes”, but let me make one thing clear: you do not get to bring them home with you.
Oh, sure, I know how you’d love to cuddle up with an agent, dress them in adorable footie pajamas and read them bedtime stories, but alas, they are remaining in their respective homes. For now. Who knows? If they really LOVE your ideas, maybe they’d like to snuggle beside you? But I digress…
At the conclusion of PiBoIdMo, on December 1st, I will post the “PiBo Pledge”. Leave a comment on the pledge post if you have completed the challenge with at least 30 ideas. You do not have to submit those ideas to prove that you have them. You’re on the honor system. It’s OK, I trust you.
If you have “signed” the pledge by commenting AND you had also registered, then you are eligible for an “agent prize”—a.k.a. THE GRAND POOBAH OF PRIZES. You will get your 5 best ideas evaluated by a kidlit agent. They’ll tell you which ideas might be the best ones to pursue as manuscripts. (Or not.)
Don’t worry–you’ll get a few days to pick your 5 best ideas and flesh them out before sending to your assigned agent.
This year we have NINE NOTABLE AGENTS participating! This means there are NINE GRAND PRIZES! I hope to add more, but these are who we have thus far.
Now…let me introduce you…let me make you smile… (wait, that’s let me entertain you…oopsie…but I bet you’re smiling anyway)…
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Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency (EMLA)
Joan is a Senior Agent with EMLA, working from her home office in Massachusetts as the “East Coast branch” of the agency. She represents all forms of children’s and young adult literature, but is most excited by a strong lyrical voice, tight plotting with surprising twists and turns, and stories told with heart and resonance that will stand the test of time.
An EMLA client herself, Joan is also the author of numerous books for children, most recently the picture books Ghost in the House (Candlewick, 2013) and Petey and Pru and the Hullabaloo (Clarion, 2013), and the novels Paradox (Random House, 2013) and Rules for Ghosting (Walker, 2013). When she is not on the phone, answering email, or writing, you will most likely find Joan curled up with a book. Or baking something delicious. Or talking about something delicious she’s baked. Really, after books and food, what else is there worth saying?
You can read more about Joan’s writing and agenting process here.
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Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary Agency (EMLA)
Tricia is the “Pacific Northwest branch” of EMLA—born and raised in Oregon, and now lives in Seattle. After 18 years of working as a developmental and production-based editor (from kids book to college textbooks, but mostly college textbooks), she joined the EMLA team in March 2011 as a social media strategist.
As associate agent, Tricia represents picture books/chapter books that look at the world in a unique and unusual way, with characters that are alive both on and off the page, and middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction that offers strong worldbuilding, wounded narrators, and stories that grab a reader and won’t let go.
Tricia loves hiking, camping out in the woods, and collecting rocks. She loves BBC America and anything British. She has way too many books and not enough bookshelves. You can find Tricia’s writing about blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, and other social media topics (for authors and the publishing industry at large) here and here.
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Marietta Zacker, Nancy Gallt Literary Agency
Marietta has experienced children’s books from every angle—teaching, marketing, publishing & bookselling. She thrives on working with authors who make readers feel their characters’ emotions and illustrators who add a different dimension to the story. She is also book curator at an independent toy store/bookstore. Read a recent publishing industry piece by Marietta here.
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Danielle Smith, Foreword Literary
Danielle Smith began her agent career at Foreword Literary Agents in 2013 where she represents picture books and middle grade authors and illustrators. Her enthusiasm for children’s literature began as a young child, but grew exponentially when her own two children were born and shortly thereafter she began reviewing books at her top rated children’s book review site There’s A Book. For more than five years she’s been involved professionally with books through print and online publications such as Women’s World and Parenting Magazine, as a member of the judging panel for The Cybils awards for fiction picture books, as well as locally by serving on the board of The Central Coast Writer’s Conference.
Danielle is also a writer, represented by Pam van Hylckama Vlieg for her middle grade novel The Protectorate. She’s a member of SCBWI and can frequently be found on Twitter talking about anything from children’s books to the BBC’s Sherlock to her own parenting woes & joys.
Read more about Danielle here.
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Mira Reisberg, Hummingbird Literary
Mira Reisberg came to launch Hummingbird Literary following a 25-year history in the field of children’s literature working as an award-winning illustrator, a writer, editor, art director, designer, a children’s literature and art education professor, and a teacher/mentor to many now successful children’s book creatives.
Her mission is to successfully represent all age-levels to create wonderful books that bring meaning and/or joy to children’s and young adult lives. Hummingbird Literary will have a limited number of clients so that Mira and her team can focus on building long-term careers and fruitful relationships.
Learn more about Mira and Hummingbird here.
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Susan Hawk, The Bent Agency
Susan Hawk represents authors who write for children of all ages, babies to teenage.
Susan comes to TBA from Children’s Book Marketing, where she worked for over 15 years, most recently as the Marketing Director at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, and previous to that as the Library Marketing Director at Penguin Young Readers Group. She’s also worked as a children’s librarian and a bookseller.
Susan handles books for children exclusively: picture books, chapter books, middle grade and YA, fiction and non-fiction. She wants a book to stay with her long after she finishes reading, and she’s looking for powerful, original writing. She’s open to mystery, scifi, humor, boy books, historical, contemporary (really any genre). Her favorite projects live at the intersection of literary and commercial. In non-fiction she’s looking for books that relate to kid’s daily lives and their concerns with the world. In picture books, she’s looking particularly for author-illustrators, succinct but expressive texts, and characters as indelible as her childhood favorites Ferdinand, Madeline and George and Martha.
Read more about Susan here.
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Lori Kilkelly, Rodeen Literary Management
Lori Kilkelly is an agent with Rodeen Literary Management, founded by Paul Rodeen, formerly of Sterling Lord Literistic, in 2009. After working in sales for a number of years, Lori decided to follow her passion for books. She attended the Denver Publishing Institute, subsequently joining the agency as an intern in early 2010. Ascending the ranks from intern and reader to assistant, she worked with current and potential clients as well as editors and publishers. In early 2012 Lori took on the role of Social Media Manager, creating and maintaining the Rodeen Literary Facebook page as well as Twitter and Pinterest accounts, to provide promotional opportunities for RLM clients as well as keep interested parties informed about books, news and events involving RLM. In December 2012 she began representing her first client, Toni Yuly, and has subsequently taken on an additional four clients. She represents authors as well as illustrators and is actively seeking talented Middle Grade and Young Adult writers.
Please visit here for more on Lori and Rodeen Literary Management.
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Sean McCarthy, McCarthy Literary
Sean McCarthy began his publishing career as an editorial intern at Overlook Press and then moved over to the Sheldon Fogelman Agency. He worked as the submissions coordinator and permissions manager before becoming a full-time literary agent. Sean graduated from Macalester College with a degree in English-Creative Writing, and is grateful that he no longer has to spend his winters in Minnesota.
He is drawn to flawed, multifaceted characters with devastatingly concise writing in YA, and boy-friendly mysteries or adventures in MG. In picture books, he looks more for unforgettable characters, off-beat humor, and especially clever endings. He is not currently interested in high fantasy, message-driven stories, or query letters that pose too many questions.
You can visit Sean here and follow him on Twitter here for his thoughts on publishing news, the inevitable hipsterfication of Astoria, and the Mets’ starting lineup.
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Jill Corcoran, Jill Corcoran Literary Agency
Prior to becoming an agent, Jill Corcoran worked at Mattel, LA Gear, Leo Burnett Advertising and her own company, LAUNCH! New Product Marketing. With an English degree from Stanford University and a Marketing and Finance MBA from the University of Chicago School of Business, Jill has marketed everything from Barbies to Disney toys, Kellogg’s cereal to LA Gear shoes. But when she started writing books for children, and then agenting them, she knew she found her true calling.
Jill represents Picture Books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade and Young Adult plus a select list of adult non-fiction. Visit her agency website here.
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Interesting story—back in 2009, I met Jill in person at the NJ-SCBWI annual conference after chatting via social media for months. We never really got a chance to talk in depth, so I asked if I could email her some of my picture book ideas so she could give me feedback on which might be the best to pursue as manuscripts. She agreed and I sent her a bunch of ideas, one of which was for THE MONSTORE. And the rest, they say, is history.
My experience with Jill is how these “agent prizes” came to be. I know how valuable it is to receive guidance from someone who really knows the market. Now that I have an agent myself (Ammi-Joan Paquette), I’m lucky enough to bounce ideas off her before I do any writing. But if you don’t have an agent, just how can you discern a lukewarm idea from a HOT one? Hopefully these agent prizes will give you a head start in that department.
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Yay! So those are our agents, folks.
Now I should end on a humorous note, but you know, running PiBoIdMo just wipes the witty right outta me sometimes.
Maybe…yabba dabba do?
by Welcome to your 19th day of PiBoIdMo, everyone! Wow, you guys are amazing, and maybe a tiny bit crazy! You’re going through with this thing! How are you doing? Are ideas coming to you? Has the well run dry? If so, here’s one I was saving for a rainy day: “alpaca inherits disused windmill.” You can have it. Don’t tell Tara!
Now freshen up your coffee because we’re going to talk about…
Inspiration
It’s a scam. That’s my honest two cents. I don’t even know why I put it in bold type. Here are some reasons it stinks.
Oracles
The shenanigans start with a young lady in Ancient Greece. She’s 14—high time she married the aging polygamist down the road, says dad! But our girl is a step ahead of the game. She just got a job relaying divine messages from Apollo, and she has to remain a virgin for him! I don’t know about you but I’m already suspicious.
Does girlfriend get to have clandestine sex with gods? Maybe. Does she hang out in a cave breathing intoxicating fumes? Once a week, which is a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you feel about vaping. She’s the most revered figure in ancient Greek society. That means gold jewelry, fancy dinners and spa days. And she’s free to speak gibberish, which handlers translate for her credulous visitors: “She said ‘you may never not defeat the Spartans/why does this lamb stew taste so amazing?’”
Sure, Apollo told her to say that. I almost forgot: she gets three months’ vacation. No surprise oracles started popping up on every corner. I’m declaring it the world’s first really great grift.
Romantics
If you’re picturing the rock band from Detroit with a singing drummer, I’m not talking about them. They’re legit. I’m talking about the artists and writers of late 18th and early 19th-century Europe. They were obsessed with finding inspiration, especially after a juicy excerpt from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience ran in Marie Claire’s September 1794 issue.
According to the Romantics, artists harness the divine when they create their work. Not everyone can do it, though. God only talks to geniuses! How did that theory serve our creative forebears? It justified chronic procrastination. It was also good for starting drunken fights about who’s a genius and who isn’t. And it was a compelling argument when begging your dentist for opium, as you see in the following historical exchange:
PERCY SHELLEY: I wish I had more opium.
SHELLEY’S DENTIST: I’m sorry, Lord Shelley, I cannot responsibly give you any more opium.
SHELLEY: I guess you don’t want me to realize my genius.
(SHELLEY’S DENTIST sighs, gives SHELLEY more opium.)
I apologize if I’m bursting anyone’s bubble with this. I just want you to be aware that a person who goes on about inspiration is hoping to rob you or use you to get drugs. Does this apply to my fellow guest-bloggers? I don’t know them all personally, but I’m going to say yes. Maybe not Jane Yolen, she’s a hard worker. It’s certainly true of the illustrators. You’re better off trusting a carney.
So where does this leave you? At your desk, where you belong! And when you lack an idea? My advice is, have a sandwich. Take a nap. Try again tomorrow. Stay away from gods and dentists. Listen to Jane Yolen.
Melissa Guion is the author and illustrator of BABY PENGUINS EVERYWHERE! (Philomel 2012) which was selected for The Original Art 2012 and has just been reissued as a board book. Her second book, BABY PENGUINS LOVE THEIR MAMA, arrives in January.
Visit Melissa online at MelissaGuion.com or follow her on Twitter @MelissaGuion.
Melissa is giving away a signed copy of BABY PENGUINS EVERYWHERE! and (vegan, opium-free) penguin gummies to snack on while you read it.
This prize will be given away at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for this prize if:
- You have registered for PiBoIdMo.
- You have commented ONCE ONLY on today’s post.
- You have completed the PiBoIdMo challenge. (You will have to sign the PiBoIdMo Pledge at the end of the event.)
Good luck, everyone!
by I grew up in the kitchen with my mama and grandmas and aunties. When I was a little girl my mama sprinkled flour across the counter and let me draw pictures in it while she baked. As I got older, I got to do more grown-up jobs. She taught me how to read recipes, measure ingredients and decipher spices.
I loved being in the kitchen because that’s where I found the greatest samples of food and the best stories cooking.
When I sat at the table with my grandma rolling lumpia, she would tell me about her childhood growing up in the Philippines and Hawaii. Grandma would giggle about the days when my grandpa would dedicate songs to her on the radio. She would share techniques for Filipino cooking, which is as much about the process as it is about the ingredients.
When I would pull up a stool to the counter, my mama would tell me about her adventures in the kitchen with her dad. I learned about our Italian-American heritage. I discovered the secret pasta sauce recipe. My mama unraveled the stories of her dreams, failures and the roots of her faith.
We bonded right there in the kitchen.
As a mama of three girls, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen today. We create, we taste, we dream up stories. One day I heard that familiar scrape of the stool across the kitchen tile. My middle daughter, who is named after an Italian chef, wanted to help mama. I happened to be making a Flourless Chocolate Truffle Torte. When she saw the chocolate swirling in the mixing bowl, she looked up at me very earnestly and said, “When does the licking begin?”
A classic line that will go down in history in our family. I am sure it’s also a line that will climb into one of my manuscripts one day.
And that’s just what happens in the kitchen: stories are born. My latest book, CORA COOKS PANCIT, details the story of a Filipino girl who learns to cook her family’s favorite noodle dish with her mama and uncovers some family history in the process. The story came out of my own experience cooking with my grandma Cora.
I happen to have a hand-scrawled copy of my grandma’s pancit recipe. I believe recipes are also a kind of story, a narrative of ingredients and traditions. That’s why we decided to include the recipe for the dish in the back of my book. When I do school visits, I talk about the ingredients with the kids and we cook pancit together.
I also included some details in the book from a Filipino friend who grew up in California’s Central San Joaquin Valley. One day when we were cooking together she told me about her dad who cooked for the hundreds of farmworkers who picked strawberries and grapes in the fields. This added another layer to my original manuscript because I could share a piece of California history as well.
The kitchen can also be a place to test out a lot more than just recipes. If your writer’s brain is blocked, droopy, stuck or uninspired, go feed it. Throw open the cupboards, dig in the refrigerator, turn up the burner and make something. I call it cooking therapy. Sometimes just the act of making myself a snack or cooking up a meal gets my creative juices flowing. While I’m cooking, I’m working out the kinks in my plot or adding nuances to my characters – sometimes consciously, sometimes subconsciously.
Julia Child said, “This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook. Try new recipes. Learn from your mistakes. Be fearless, and above all, have fun.”
Sounds like great advice for writers too.
Bon appétit!
A SPOONFUL OF WRITING PROMPTS TO HELP YOU COOK UP YOUR NEXT MANUSCRIPT:
- Describe the most delicious meal you can imagine. What are the smells, the colors, the tastes that inspire you there?
- Sketch a scene in words or pictures from your childhood that involved food. Was there a traditional dish or meal you often made with your family?
- If you were inviting a famous chef to dinner, what you would you serve? Invite your own children or perhaps your inner child to be a part of that story.
- What food makes your stomach turn or your nose turn up? Write a story about a child avoiding or facing that food.
- Go in the kitchen. Make yourself a snack. Dig in. Then imagine what would happen if that tantalizing snack came alive.
Dorina is the author of three books for children, including CORA COOKS PANCIT which won the Asian Pacific American Librarian Association’s “Picture Book of the Year.” Her poetry has also been published in Cricket magazine.
Dorina loves creating healthy recipes for her family and friends. To balance all that eating, she runs half marathons with her hubby and knits. When Dorina is not writing or stirring up stories in the kitchen, she is the director of The Haitian Bead Project. The project features upcycled jewelry made by Haitian artisans who are rising out of poverty. Dorina loves working with the Haitian women and sharing their stories in the U.S.
Visit Dorina online at DorinaGilmore.com, Twitter @DorinaGilmore or check out some of her recipes on the Health-full blog at MissionFitness.co.
Dorina is giving away a signed copy of CORA COOKS PANCIT!
This prize will be given away at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for this prize if:
- You have registered for PiBoIdMo.
- You have commented ONCE ONLY on today’s post.
- You have completed the PiBoIdMo challenge. (You will have to sign the PiBoIdMo Pledge at the end of the event.)
Good luck, everyone!
by Daniel and I started developing picture books as a team back in 2004. Our earliest picture books were practice vehicles, helping us learn how to create a picture book as well as how best to work together. Our third collaboration landed us an agent and our fourth got us a book deal. Along the way, Daniel and I have discovered a few best practices for successful creative partnerships.
1. Give each other space.
When we started out, we thought we had to muddle through every detail of the development process together—from idea to execution. Soon enough, we felt suffocated by the project, and frustrated with each other. So we changed it up. We’d ruminate on our current task independently and then come to each discussion meeting with solid recommendations on hand.
2. Check your ego at the door.
Even giving each other ample space, our discussions can become quite heated. Naturally, each of us is convinced our approach is the right one. We’ve learned that we can’t hash things out immediately. It’s most harmonious if we present our recommendations with minimal commentary, and then each go back in our respective caves to consider all angles. After some reflection, I often realize that Daniel’s proposed solutions for the story are better than mine, or something he brought up leads me to rethink and rewrite for the better.
3. Try to have fun!
Sometimes we make the mistake of approaching our sessions with too much seriousness. Yes, publishing is a business, but the ideas flow best when we relax and let our creative sides go off on tangents. One of those tangents could be exactly what we need.
Lenore and Daniel Jennewein live and work together in Frankfurt, Germany. CHICK-O-SAURUS REX is their debut picture book as a team. Daniel is also the illustrator of IS YOUR BUFFALO READY FOR KINDERGARTEN? and TEACH YOUR BUFFALO TO PLAY TO DRUMS, both by Audrey Vernick. Lenore also writes novels for teens under the name Lenore Appelhans, including THE MEMORY OF AFTER and CHASING BEFORE.
Visit them at LenoreAppelhans.com and DanielJennewein.com.
The Jenneweins are giving away a signed copy of CHICK-O-SAURUS REX plus a personalized illustration by Daniel.
This prize bundle will be given away at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for this prize if:
- You have registered for PiBoIdMo.
- You have commented ONCE ONLY on today’s post.
- You have completed the PiBoIdMo challenge. (You will have to sign the PiBoIdMo Pledge at the end of the event.)
Good luck, everyone!
by Bad news for me: Tara asked me to write about inspiration. I’m not sure if it’s the dreary November weather or my travel-fried brain, but I feel neither inspired nor inspiring.
Good news for you: You don’t need me, not when you’ve got the collective human experience at your fingertips. When I type the word “inspiration” into Google, I get over 130,000,000 hits. Everything you could possibly want is there: dictionary definitions, memorable quotations from Eleanor Roosevelt and the Dalai Lama, Scripture verses, YouTube videos of TED talks, and, last but certainly not least, Kid President.
Lest you think I’m making excuses to avoid writing about inspiration, I’m not. I am going to write. It’s just that I’ve decided to tell you that it’s okay not to feel inspired.
I’ve learned that for me, writing has little to do with inspiration and everything to do with hard work. Don’t get me wrong–there IS inspiration, if you define inspiration as the source of those ideas that seem to come out of nowhere, and I’m happy when those moments come. But that kind of inspiration comes in fits and snatches, and flits away as quickly as it comes.
That word Inspiration is a tricky one. Define it too narrowly, in the sense that Inspiration conjures up Muses and magic and sparkly things, and you might be setting yourself up to wait far too long between productive writing times.
Of course, there’s another way to see inspiration other than as the occasional blessing from a capricious Muse. Let’s define “inspiration” as “something that makes you put your butt in the chair.” (Butt In Chair, or BIC, as you probably know, is from Jane Yolen.)
Here are some things that make me sit my writerly butt down:
Hope
When I started writing, almost all submissions and responses were handled via the U.S. Postal Service. More days than not, nothing came in the mail. Nevertheless, that moment of reaching for the mailbox door every day and pulling it open always felt happy and hopeful. And sometimes there was something lovely in there! I like that hopeful feeling (even though these days I get it when I check CallerID to see if it’s my agent) and I don’t get to have it if I don’t do the work first.
Deadlines
My 18-year-old daughter, faced with a looming deadline the other night for one of her college applications, whipped out an essay in about forty-five minutes, and it was actually quite good. Deadlines mean you don’t have the luxury of feeling inspired; you just have to do the work.
The Ticking Clock
I’m not old-old; I’m not even sure I’m quite in the middle-aged category. But I probably have fewer days ahead of me than I have behind me. As Rabbi Hillel said, “If not now, when?” I’m pretty sure he wasn’t referring to me finishing my hippo manuscript, but it works for me.
My Kids
My four teenagers may think they’re too old for picture books (though they respectfully read mine when I ask them) but they definitely are not too old to see me setting and reaching new goals. When I feel like quitting (generally because I’m depending on a visit from a Muse who has taken off on a one-way trip to Tahiti) I remember I don’t want my kids to see me quit. They can see me struggle, and they can see me change my direction, but I don’t want them to see me quit.
Kid Readers
This. Yes. More addictive—and more important—than chocolate to my writerly soul.
This list is incomplete, of course. I didn’t list the embarrassing ones or the ones I should probably save for a therapist. (I own those; I just don’t think you need or want to read about them.) I’m curious—what’s on your list? What inspires you to sit down and write when your Muse is on Mars?
Despite the oft-quoted adage to write what you know, Anne Marie Pace has never been a bear, a vampire, or a ballerina. She is the author of NEVER EVER TALK TO STRANGERS and A TEACHER FOR BEAR, both published by Scholastic Book Clubs; and the VAMPIRINA BALLERINA series, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, published by Disney-Hyperion. Someday, she hopes to write books about what she does know: whistling, baking blue-ribbon-winning chocolate chip cookies, and schlepping teenagers around in a minivan, if she can find a way to make any of that interesting. She lives with her family in Virginia. Visit Anne Marie online at AnneMariePace.com or the Vampirina Ballerina Facebook page at Facebook.com/VampirinaBallerina.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 